


Visiting An Old Friend

by scared_to_live



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: I actually don’t know what to tag this as, Multi, This Is Incredibly Self Indulgent, also lewvithur is the end product of this fic, also my msa oc is here :3, i guess I’ll figure that out later, theres zalgo text in the first chapter, whoops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-01 05:14:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16758631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scared_to_live/pseuds/scared_to_live
Summary: After a recent endeavor with a big job that paid a pretty penny, the Mystery Gang was glad to finally head back to Tempo and take a well deserved break.Arthur needs to pay someone a visit before they can finally rest, though.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hey uhhh instead of doing anything productive I wrote this! originally it was supposed to be one chapter but I felt it worked better in multiple parts

Arthur was so glad that he was going to be able to spend some time at home after the gangs most recent endeavor. Sure, they’ve had their fair share of bigger cases, (this time it had been rivaling cultists, how fun.) But this one had their blood pumping. 

Now that it was all over though, it was time for a well deserved break. Vivi would go and give Duet all the old books she picked up on the job and probably spend the rest of her time off with Lewis. Said ghost would be helping his family out at the restaurant and...doing whatever else ghosts did. Arthur wasn’t too sure about what exactly that was, but it’s not exactly his business so he won’t pry. Meanwhile he was just planning on sticking around Lance’s shop, excited to work on something other than his van for a change. 

(He won’t admit it, but he misses just hanging around with his uncle in the shop…and Galahad too.) 

Right now though, they were all getting breakfast at some little mom-and-pop cafe while looking for anymore small jobs on the way back into Tempo. Maybe he’ll get some extra pocket money to spend on the new Smash coming out, hopefully before any bigger jobs rise up. 

Arthur shook himself out of his thoughts, pushed his half-eaten plate of bacon and eggs towards Vivi. He smiled at her excited gasp and promise of repayment in the future before shushing her and downing the rest of his third cup of coffee, still trying to rub the minimal amount of sleep he got out of his eyes. Even with Lewis’ ability to not need sleep, he still wanted to drive through the night. Driving on nearly empty roads was peaceful; it left him clear-headed and with a semi-calm feeling, unlike twisting and turning in the back. Finding sleep was not an easy task for him. It was much easier to push himself to the brink of exhaustion. 

Lewis only chuckled at their antics, dropping some of his food under the table for Mystery to snack on. 

Picking up the newspaper they had grabbed by the door, Arthur quickly skimmed through the ads and articles with Vivi looking over his shoulder. She loudly gasped right into his ear and snatched the paper from his hands, quickly shoving empty plates and mugs away from the middle of table. She slammed the paper down, an excited look on her face. 

“Letsh check thish outmph!” 

The ghost took the paper and was skimming over the article while Arthur rubbed his ear. 

“Vivi!” He whined, turning his head so she could see his betrayed look. 

Vivi only snorted, quickly swallowing the rest of her food. “Oh shush, you know you love me.”

“Do I have a choice?” 

“No.”

Huffing under his breath, Arthur snatched the paper back from Lewis’ outstretched hand while he started to discuss the case with Vivi. 

The article wasn’t anything special, just something about how an abandoned neighborhood was being demolished to make way for a new school. What caught their eyes was the fact that all the heavy machinery would malfunction and refuse to work around one specific house, which has been reported to be haunted in the past. Unable to get a good grip on all the details before Vivi oh so cruelly snatched it from him, Arthur took his time to absorb it all. It didn’t seem dangerous, there weren’t any reported injuries from the construction workers. Maybe the spirit was having trouble moving on? It wasn’t unlikely, they’d had many cases of this in the past. Something about the article struck Arthur as familiar, he couldn’t quite place his finger on it yet. Best not to dwell on it too long. 

He flipped the page and totally didn’t yell out when he saw a picture of the offending house. Too bad for not dwelling on it then. 

“Lewis holy shit!” 

The other two stopped their conversation and immediately turned to Arthur, confused. He rarely ever got loud like this, especially so early in the morning. Lewis was starting to think that something was seriously wrong when a huge smile suddenly broke out on Arthur’s face. 

Vivi was the first to react, throwing her arms around his shoulders. “Aww Lew-Lew, Artie is getting excited for a case! Our sweet boy is finally growing up, gosh, I feel so old now!” She giggled, dramatically falling on top of him and narrowly avoiding kicking Mystery in the head, much to the dismay of the dog. 

“Hey! Get off of me!” Arthur whined, trying and failing to push her weight off. Realizing that he wasn’t making any progress, Arthur slumped into the corner of the booth, letting Vivi be as dramatic as she could possibly be. “I swear, one of these days you’ll crush me to death.”

Lewis sighed at their antics.

The waitress that had been serving them came up to their table. She looked pretty distressed. “E-Excuse me, but, I’ve gotten complaints from a few other customers and I’m going to have to ask you to please quiet down.” Her voice was enough to get them to realize just how loud they’d been. 

In Arthur and Vivi’s frenzy to get themselves upright, Mystery was (literally) kicked out from under the table. Deciding that sitting near their flailing feet was too much of a risk, he used his little doggy weight to push open the door and walk over to the van. 

It was only a few blessed seconds of silence after that. 

“We should probably get going then, right gang?” Arthur said nervously. He was never been a fan of confrontation. Plus, the anxiety coming from the waitress was palpable. 

“Yeah you’re right, Artie. Let me just pay real quick-“ Vivi was quickly interrupted by Lewis, who plucked the wallet out of her hands and set it aside. She stared baffled as he grabbed his own. 

“I thought we agreed that I’d pay this time?” He asked, placing a number of bills into the waitresses hands and pushing her away seconds before Vivi reached out to grab them back. 

“Yeah but what if I wanted to pay?!” She shouted, glaring at Lewis. 

“Vivi you never want to pay-“ The ghost started, but he didn’t get to finish as Vivi launched herself over the table. 

“Just let me treat my boys!”

She tackled Lewis in the middle of the floor. Children were yelling, a few teenagers sitting in the corner were cheering Vivi on, an older lady looked about ready to call the police while her husband merely laughed at the antics, and the waitress looked about ready to cry. 

Arthur could greatly sympathize with her.

It wasn’t until fifteen minutes later that they had to be escorted out by the manager himself and threats of a call to the local police station for disrupting the peace. 

Now they were all in the van, with Arthur sitting between Lewis and Vivi just so that no more spontaneous fights could break out while in the middle of the road. 

“Well,” Mystery popped his head up from the back of the van and leaned against the seats, “that went great.”

“Oh shut it, you weren’t even there!” Vivi scolded, rubbing her sore wrists from when Lewis tried to subdue her. 

“Yeah, but I did get to watch you all get chased out.” 

She sulked in her seat, leaning her head against the window like she was in a sad music video. It would’ve been perfect if there was rain. But alas, that was a rarity in the desert. 

Meanwhile, Arthur was just getting more and more antsy. 

His leg was shaking, hands fumbling with his bracelets, and eyes darting around to see if he could recognize any of the scenery around them. 

“Hey Arthur, can I see the article again real quick?” Lewis asked, not taking his eyes off the road.

“What for?” 

“So that I know where to go, dingus.”

Arthur scoffed. “Didn’t you recognize the house in the pic?”

Now it was Lewis who was confused. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds before giving Arthur a quick glance out of the corner of his eye. “No? But then again, I barely had time to see it before you snatched it out of my hands. Was I supposed to?”

“Wait wait wait,” Vivi quit her sulking and sat up. “Are you saying that you recognized the house, which is probably haunted and has some sort of spirit possessing heavy machinery-” She pauses to take a deep breath, then she threw her hands up in exasperation. “-and you didn’t tell us?!”

“Well, it just never came up!”

Lewis chimed in. “I’m more than sure that there were plenty of chances to say ‘Hey guys I found this house with something spooky in it and we could check it out’.”

“Ok yeah, you have a point there.” He mumbled, “but like, I have other friends besides you guys.” 

He was met with silence. 

“Okay, that was bullshit. I only have one other close friend, but that’s not really what I’m getting at here! Actually, I have no idea what I was trying to say in the first place if I’m being honest.”

He pondered for a few seconds before clapping his hands together. “Oh yeah! Hey Lewis you remember when we were still in school and all the times your Mom came and picked me up from some abandoned neighborhood before I finally got the van? We’re going to that house.” 

After a few seconds Lewis gasped, looking at Arthur with his face full of giddiness. “Wait really?”

“Yep!” He popped the p. This was the most excited he looked in absolute ages. 

Meanwhile, Vivi was very confused by all of this information she was being given. It only made her insatiable curiosity worsen and left with so many more questions than answers. 

Arthur snickered at her expression, the perfect mix of confusion and frustration, and gently pat her head. “Don’t worry my sweet summer child, all will be answered in due time.”

The rest of the time spent driving was anything but quiet. Vivi and Lewis were taking turns asking Arthur about the house and what was there, with Mystery occasionally asking a few himself. Arthur just laughed at the growing outrageousness of their questions and gave Lewis occasional directions to the mysterious house. 

Lewis turned onto a street adjacent of the neighborhood and the excited mood of the car was quickly extinguished. 

Calling this desolate plot of land a neighborhood was quite the stretch. Very few houses were left standing, none of them intact besides one, which stood near the back. The rest of the plot was empty save for piles upon piles of rubble and all sorts of large equipment to decimate everything set their path. 

The van was in a somber silence. It wasn’t broken until they turned to the last street where the last house laid. 

The radio, which had been softly playing whatever station it had been set at, was going haywire. The volume was rising and falling, rapidly switching between various stations. A static droning played on through all the mayhem. 

Arthur started to freak out, which wasn’t helped at all by the fact that the stereo was right in his face. 

Faint whispers could be heard through the barrage of static as the van slowed to a stop right before the lone standing house. They grew louder and louder until the voice had begun to yell. 

Ẉ̻͙͇̘̬͆͑͗ͬ̓̆̚H̶͙̝̬͈̓̊ͧŸ̹̯̜̻̣̠͑̿̾͂ ̲̘̮͍͙̗͍̉̃ͫͣͮD͓̮̊ͦÒ̟̳͓̮͖̠ͬ̓͗͋ ̛͔͖Y̦͕͔͎̥͉͋̏͠Ò̙̗͓͎̙̗ͮͯͫ̄ͨ̈́Ũ̥ ̱ͪͩ̔͠P̯͔͈͇͚̠̟ͯͧ̂͂ͤ͆͠E͆̔͗̃͒҉̻Rͪ͑ͯ̚͠S̫̅ͨͮͪ́́I̩̮̠̘̻̻̫ͦ͛ͧ͛S̩̼̼̰͒̍͐ͫͩͨͫTͨ͟?̀͑ͦ̎̒ ̯̪̥̙͑ͭ̂̐̊̂̑I̭͍͌̓ ̖͉͇̓̑̈ͦ̔̎̐́ḰͪÈ̬̀̾ͨ̄̇Ë͕͉͔̉́͊P̥̪̲͔̜̬͍ ̼̱͔̥D̤̘̩̬̯͈̃͡R͎͑͐̀Ī̞̗͓͒͌̊V̞̪̤̺̼̫̺̆͑Ī̃ͅN̝̦̯͉̺͌͋Gͭͫ̐̽͏̺̹͖̭ ͉̺̟̟̲̰͙̑̐ͣ̇̅Y̱̗̠̝͙̺͉ͯ̑̃̊O̧̭̱̠̲̘͊U̩͂̐̃ B̴͚͙͖̮͕̦͆ͅA̛ͨͫͮ̀C̶̺K͏̖̫̻̤̣ͅ ̶̣͙̫̮̓̈͊̍̈́̉Ȳ̬̼̯͕̞͍̪̎ͯ̎͑ͬ͛͢E̤͔̤̫̟̪̽̐ͮT̯͎̪̖̫̼̝̉̏ͮ̏̓ ̱̟̬̊ͮ̏̂̅̊́Y͙̮̖͛̋̊͆̈̽͡ͅͅOǗ̴̠͇̠̝͖̌̄̈́̇̓̎ ͓̙͔̼͚̲ͨ͂̓̅K̺̰̜̝E͉͔̯̗͙̲͗̓̋ͨ̇͡Ě̡̖͙͗͊̽͋P͖̠͍̣̲ͣͪ̎ ̞͍̮̊̿ͫͩ̎ͯ̓S̘͖ͩ̿̓̍̌̎͆E̷̜͕̩̣̟͎̣ͨͫ̂̃NͩḒ̬̄̐̂I̧͚͖̜̅͐̉̊N̛̼̝̭̫̯̖̠ͫ͑͌̓ͥ̒G̰̥͉̫ͭ͞ ͟M̗̔̏̊ͣO̬̠Ř̗͎̣͉̺̥̀̒̋ͤͤ̄E̴̯̺̝̤̯̍ͭͥͣͯͬͨ ̙̜̟͍̊͆A̷̘͖̦̟̓͛ͫͣͯN̗ͣ͡D̹̮̝̺͈̮͓̃ͧͦͣ͋ͯ͢ ̦̱̱̞̲̪̟͑ͩͤ̿͆ͬM̦̰̰ͬͣͤO̙̙̩̹͌ͥͧ̿ͣR̟̟̮͎͕̍̆ͥ͋ͅE̞͉̫ͪ͂ͧͭ͞ͅ ̸̘̭̗̹͉͕̠̂S̜̍ͨ̆ͪ̑̄̄͟O͕̫̬͛ͅU͙͈̱͔̺̻̟̔L̫̙͓͕̱ͣ̍́S̜̭͓̩̀͑̃͌ͨ́ ̷T̩͔ͥͩ̑͛ͮͨ͞O̶̻̤ ̯̺̘̗̘͍̍͐̀ͧͥͣS̩̭͇̝͗̇͂͑ͨ̿E̙̖̞̟ͯ̓̈̀̉̒N̥̲̉D̬̣͖̼̖̏́͊̋ ̫͚̼̻̙͡M̰̪̗͖̲͑̔͂E̷͔͍̖̫ͨ͆͛͌̂̈́ ̪̞̩̝͓̘̟ͯͬ̊̿ͬ̚A͓̭̲̮ͪͮ̋̀̊ͬ̚W̵̳̟̮͉̻̻͎̒̈́ͨ͌̓ͮA̎̏̽ͪͨ̚҉͍͔̣̹Y̞̩ͯ̀.̝͉͕̙̝ͦ̂ ̸̓I̷̩ͫ̇ ̨͕̟̳̠̣̃C̪̙̘͚̿͗̆͒̂͌̇A̤̟̰͆̉Ņ̥̯̮̜̙͗͆ͥT̞̩̰̰͚͎́ ̗͍̗Ļ͕̮͍̤̱̠̥ͣ́ͦ̚E̥̕T͙̫͇̼ͬ̑̀̿̽ͫ͘ ̥ͯ̈́ͥ̇̉ͩ̇͜G͙̓̇ͥ̿̈́͛Ô̲̰̻̰̏,̤̤̪̻̹̦ͬ͑͊̓ͬ̑ͧ ̬̭ͦ̎ͥ̇ͩͦ̕I͚̒̓̔̑͑ͪͫ ̲̗͔͚̄ͬ̿ͦ̎̚Cͬͭ̓͐ͥ̾ͫ͏͕̠̥̯̠̣A̅̈́҉̼̝N̞̲̻ͦͫ͜T̠̮̺͍̲ͭ̏ͧ͛ͩ̈́̎ ͉͍̭̐ͮͩ͗ͯ̽L̺̮̺̜̮ͤ͗̾ͨ͗ͫ͌E͈̱͉̺͓͎ͅĄ̍̈́V̶͋͛È̞͖̦̜̀̒ͩ̊̄̚̕,̧̜̙͈͔̤ͮ̓ͩ͆͋̌͌ͅ ̵̺͑ͣJ̫̠̲̑͆͐Ụ̻̱̘̞͍̬ͣ͒ͫ͗̽ͤ͝S̫̚Tͦ̋ ͕̕L̹͇͆̂E̢ͪ͆̿͗̚A͓͋̃ͭ́V̏̊͠Eͬ͑ͧ̉͂̽̈͏̺̱͈̞͚̭ ̫̰͚̼ͣ͢M̫̤̝͔̅ͮͣ̄́̇̚E̟͙̺͉̩̲͛͒̋͌̅ͬ̃ ̘͓̖̩̟̤̍͊ͩ̒̌B̮̙̲̠͒̽̕E͚̹̬͚͔ͅ.ͬ̆ͩ͊

The van, which had abruptly stopped in the middle of the street right as the stereo began to act up, suddenly pulled in reverse. They sped backwards until being deposited at the end of the street. 

There was silence from the radio now other than the faint flickering of static. The voice came back but much quieter. “Ple̵a̕s̵e̡, I͟ ҉hav͝e̵ ́nothi͠ńg̨ l̀ef̸t̕ o͢the͜ŗ t͢han my ͜h̀ơm͏e̡. ͡Don’̧t ri̵p͜ ͞it̶ f̡ro̶m ͏me͢ ̛j͜ust y̴et͜.̧ ̷”

The stereo shut off with a click. 

Vivi shakily exhaled and looked to everyone else. Arthur had his metal arm clutching his shirt right at his heart and was shaking heavily. Lewis had his hands hovering above the steering wheel and was staring at the house, his anchor looking like it was having a seizure with how erratically it was beating. 

Mystery was laying against the backs of their seats from being thrown forward by the momentum of the van. Vivi released the death grip she had on the car seat and gave an excited whoop. This was starting to get even more interesting than it already was! 

Mystery, on the other hand, was nowhere near as happy. “Arthur, are you sure that this is safe? I mean, I know that virtually nothing we get dragged into is safe but…”

Arthur would’ve taken an almost offended look to his face if his heart wasn’t still beating out of his chest. “Y-yeah, yeah this is okay! He’s probably just frazzled from all the people trying to tear down the only home he’s ever had.”

Mystery hopped in between him and Lewis, pushing his nose against Lewis’ face. The cold wetness startled him enough to unfreeze and show his horrified curiosity. “Is, Is he… bound there? To the house?” 

Arthur nodded, reaching over Vivi to open the van door. “He is, but I’ve never really asked about it after the first time.”

Vivi climbed out of the van and stood confused, but her determination powered through. “So what? Are we going to set him free so he can fade?” No matter what could happen with ghosts and spirits, she always felt the need to help them out. Always trying to free them of their last binding regrets so that they can finally feel peace. Besides Lewis, that is. 

“Nah, that’s not exactly it,” He came out of the van and grabbed onto his prosthetic, looking sheepish. “I, uh, I promised him I’d come see him as soon as I found Lewis so that I could take y’all to meet him. But we have a whole bunch of issues and if anyone can help us, it’s him. Also it’s been over a year since I’ve come over and I feel bad.”

Lewis dropped his human facade and floated over to them. “Are we really that bad to the point where we need someone else to help?” 

Their not-dog let himself out of the van and snorted. “Bad is a huge understatement.”

“Mystery’s right, Lew.” Vivi crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m not the most perceptive when it comes to our little family here but even I can tell that something isn’t exactly right. This tension—or whatever this is— is horrible. To the point where sometimes I feel like I’m drowning in it.” 

Lewis huffed, lowering himself to the street in defeat. “Yeah, okay. That’s fair.”

They stood in the desolate street for a few moments more. 

Suddenly, a huge grin broke out on Arthur’s face, his eyes shed their tired gaze and held a colorful excitement, and for the first time in what seems like since before the cave, Arthur seemed genuinely happy.

“Well, what are we doing standing around here? Let’s go!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m really having a lot of fun writing this fic which is probably how I was able to finish this chapter so quickly lmao

Arthur muttered under his breath, looking into the covered glass door at the back of the house as if his glare could let him see inside. 

Usually all the doors and windows to the house were left unlocked at all times to let people who needed to see the ghost inside, but when they tried the front door, it was locked. That wasn’t the problem though, (who knew Vivi could pick locks?), the problem was figuring out that it had also been barricaded with a pile-up of furniture. 

That’s fine. There was always the back door.

…Which was also bolted shut and barricaded. 

What a fantastic greeting from someone who was supposed to be glad to see him!

As he paced around in front of the back porch trying to think of any other ways to get in, Vivi sat on the old trampoline and groaned. “Arthur, my pal, buddy, why can’t we just break a window and climb inside?” She asked, pretending to swing her bat. 

Arthur paused his pacing and stuck his tongue out at her. “We can’t just break a window. We’re gonna need to find a way to get him to let us in.”

“But~” She grinned, “it’s not like we can be sued for property damage.” 

He looked around for anything to throw at Vivi that wouldn’t seriously hurt her, but after finding nothing he settled for just sending her a pleading look. 

She wilted. “Okay, so no breaking and entering.” Now she was officially out of ideas. Bored, Vivi laid back on the trampoline, uncaring of the dirt and whatnot potentially ruining her clothes. At least the swirling clouds up above looked cool, if not somewhat disconcerting. 

Meanwhile Mystery, who was curled up under one of the chairs that was left on the porch, yawned. “Why can’t Lewis just phase inside?” He asked, laying his head onto his paws. As interesting as this whole predicament was, he was slightly frustrated that they were stuck out here. 

Lewis fiddled with his hands. “I.. I don’t know if I’m allowed to do that.”

“What, are the ghost police gonna come get you and throw you in ghost jail?” Arthur joked, checking out the stability of the screen on the back window. He was met with a chuckle that sounded incredibly forced. “Yikes, looks like we got a tough crowd.” He mumbled to himself, dusting the dirt that got caught on his hands off. 

Deciding that the screen wasn’t going to budge Arthur turned back to ask Lewis if he could somehow pop it off. The words died in his throat when he saw how uncomfortable the ghost looked. Arthur’s stare just made Lewis fidget even more, even causing him to look away. 

What the fuck. 

“Lewis are you kidding me.”

“Lew, when the hell did you go to ghost jail.”

Lewis floundered, floating into the air and holding his arms up in a placating motion. “I never went to ghost jail! I don’t even think there is an actual ghost jail,” Lewis muttered the last part, turning away from the accusing stares of his friends and back to the house. “That’s way besides the point. I just- I don’t think I can waltz in unannounced on another ghosts territory. Especially if he’s bound there.” 

Vivi and Arthur were still very confused from the whole ghost jail thing. But hey, they always have time to ask him about it later. It’s not like he was gonna be going anywhere anytime soon. 

Regardless, they were still stuck outside, and the weather kept getting more shitty the more time they spent talking. 

“Lewis, he’s not going to be mad if you go in the house. People do it all the time. I just need you to let him know we’re out here and let us inside before it starts to rain all over our asses.”

Lewis was still hesitant, hovering before the window Arthur was just messing around with, with his hand lightly resting on the screen. He looked back to Arthur with a questioning glance. Arthur just sighed and stood next to him. 

“If you’re really worried about going in there then-” He started, hands moving up in between them, “here.” Arthur unfastened the star pin from his vest, quickly attaching it to Lewis’ suit. “He should recognize it. If he’s being stubborn just give it to him.” Arthur had a small smile on his face while he stood close to Lewis for those few moments. Then, seeming to realize just how close they were and how long he was just standing there, Arthur quickly stepped back to where he was with the usual awkwardness he had in these types of situations. He also looked sad and.. nervous? Was Arthur nervous about something? Was he scared?

Was… was Arthur still scared of him?

Lewis didn’t have much time to dwell on it because he was suddenly shoved through the window. It was a miracle he managed to turn himself intangible just in time to not bang his skull. 

As much as he didn’t want to admit it being pushed from behind sent his mind reeling. It wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been—Mystery headbutt him through, so he was able to tell it wasn’t the hand of his possessed friend pushing him—but it still caused adrenaline to rush through his being. His vision disappeared and he stood shivering in the darkness of the house, taking breaths he didn’t need to calm himself down, trying to remember what Arthur had told him to do in situations like this. 

Once his vision came back Lewis turned himself around and phased his skull through the window alone, intent on sending a glare to Mystery, who should’ve known better. 

Instead, he got a face full of Vivi’s big goofy grin and two thumbs up. “You can do it! I believe in you!” She cheered. His gaze softened up at her enthusiasm and even though he didn’t have a mouth at the moment, Vivi could tell that he was smiling. 

Behind her Arthur was purposefully avoiding looking at them, choosing to busy himself with scolding Mystery instead. Lewis saw this and his smile lessened. 

Ever since Lewis came back and things had more or less settled, Arthur had been acting weird. One moment they’d all be buddy-buddy and if you could see past the death and trauma then you’d find it would be almost as if nothing had happened between them. But the next, in the drop of a hat, Arthur would close himself off from Vivi and Lewis. Even going as far as to outright avoid them entirely. Then Lewis would go and pry to try and figure out what went wrong, and Arthur would close himself off even more, and Lewis would get frustrated and eventually just blow up. Causing Arthur to completely shut down for days at a time. 

Dying had left him more than vulnerable to fits of anger; being a ghost born of rage and all. 

This morning had been different, he’d seemed more at ease. More content. He seemed happy to be with them. Lewis wanted that back for all of them, for Arthur.

So set with a determined nod, Lewis’ skull phased back inside of the house to start searching for this other ghost. 

Vivi stood there for a few moments until she was sure that Lewis wouldn’t be coming back out. Once certain that she was in the clear Vivi’s grin fell from her face and she cast a disappointed glance at Mystery. 

“Really Mystery? I thought we agreed to the ‘No Pushing Lewis Ever’ rule.” She scolded, crossing her arms over her chest. 

The dog lowered his head and tucked his tail between his legs. “Sorry Vivi, but you saw what was going on. You know what would’ve happened if I hadn’t stepped in.” He reasoned. 

Arthur knew what that meant and shrunk in on himself, holding onto his left arm a little too tightly. “I’m…I’m going to go check the front of the house again. There’s some rooms that I know he can’t reach, and- uh, if Lewis can’t do anything th-then getting in through there will be our best bet.” He walked away from them, mumbling to himself

Vivi and Mystery looked at each other worriedly. Though her face showed more concern than anything else, contrasting with his guilt. 

“You stay here, I’ll go check up on him.” Vivi said as she swung her bat onto her shoulder and marched after her friend, leaving Mystery to curl up in front of the back door. 

Even being centuries old, he still feels like he should be smart enough to make better decisions that won’t cause anymore pain…

The rain began to fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: as soon as I finished looking over and fixing this chapter it started to rain
> 
> please feel free to comment if I goofed up or if it’s confusing at a certain part so that I can go and try to make it easier to understand!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the link for what the ghost looks like :3c
> 
> https://im-having-an-art-attack.tumblr.com/post/179499039610/guess-who-made-themselves-a-msa-self-insert-oc
> 
> while writing this out in my head they became less of a self insert and more of a regular old oc so,,, character development????

Lewis didn’t know what to expect when he stood in the house, but this was certainly… something, to say the least. 

There wasn’t any shred of light, all the windows were covered with dark curtains or piled up with furniture. And the minimal light that could’ve slipped between the cracks was snubbed out by the storm outside. The only possible source of light was coming from his own flames, which cast a soft magenta hue onto his surroundings. 

Summoning a flame in his hand, he lit up the rest of the room. 

The house, while looking generally intact on the outside, was a mess on the inside. Furniture was falling apart and shoved against any possible exit, the drywall was crumbling away in every room, the floor was just concrete with bits of tile stuck along the edge of the room. The only things that looked remotely okay was a piano up against the window and a couch that had been upturned at the front door. Everything else had some sort of water damage to an extent. 

The sudden absence of his friends muffled voices left him unnerved. But as much as he wanted to go out and see what happened, Lewis figured that he was being way more helpful inside, especially now that the rain had picked up. So, he left the room to look for anything that could help. 

The rest of the house didn’t fare much better.

With his search for this elusive ghost coming up dry, Lewis started to head back to the main room. Maybe he should move all the junk away from one of the windows to let the others inside and have them help look. 

But before he could get too close to the piano though, Lewis was suddenly slammed into the adjacent wall. He was dazed to the point where it took him a few seconds to get his bearings. When he did he realized something odd. He was pinned to the wall with something that seemed to be luminescent..water? 

Whatever it was, it kept Lewis held tightly against crumbling drywall and put out all of his flames, leaving everything dark except for what it touched. 

He didn’t get to notice the ghost in front of him until a tendril of the glowing water forced his skull forwards. 

They were much shorter than he was, their skull having a rounder appearance that didn’t take away from how absolutely enraged they looked. Instead of a traditional suit they wore a black vest over their dress shirt. The anchor at their chest glowed a bright aqua, though it did sport a few cracks around one of the edges. Their bright purple hair looked as if it was in water, and every so often their appearance seemed to ripple. 

More important than their appearance was the fact that they were seething. “Are they really that desperate to go and hire a ghost to try and get rid of me?” The ghost asked, a boiling anger apparent in their eyes. 

Lewis would be lying if he said he wasn’t at least somewhat nervous. Ghosts could manipulate elements depending on a number of factors, and it seems that this ghost had water. Lewis wasn’t stupid, even though he was at least a foot and a half taller and a stronger spirit in general, he was at a severe type disadvantage. 

Panicking, Lewis started to ramble. “H-hey, I’m not trying to do anything! My friend wanted to see you but we couldn’t get inside so I came in to let them in and he said that you’d be happy to see him but he’s trapped out in the rain and oh fuck his arms probably gonna get messed up-“ He trailed off at the cold stare he received. 

“What are you here for?” They asked coldly, the water restraining Lewis tightening around his wrists. 

He flinched at the sudden pressure. “I-I already said! My friend wanted to see you but there wasn’t a way inside, so I got sent in to try and talk to you.”

“So, you aren’t here to exorcise me.” They asked. 

“Nope.”

“And you were in the van I rocketed down the street.”

“Yeah.”

“Hm.” They pondered for a bit. “How can I trust that you aren’t really here to hurt me?”

“I was told to give this pin to you and that you would recognize it incase you were being stubborn.” Lewis gestured to the star pin as best he could, still be restrained against the wall and all. 

They stayed there for a few seconds before Lewis was dropped into a heap onto the ground with an indignant screech. 

The ghost didn’t seem too inclined on helping him up. 

For a moment they seemed to be lost in thought. “You said someone wanted to see me?” They asked, looking up as Lewis stood to his full height and re-summoned the flames that made up his pompadour.

He tried his best to wipe away the rest of the glowing water-that-wasn’t-actually-water away from his suit. “Hm? Oh, yeah. My friend seemed pretty excited to see you since he saw what was going on with the construction workers.” Seeing as the ghost was still somewhat suspicious he unfastened the star pin from his lapels and held it out in an outstretched hand. 

The other ghost cautiously reached for the pin. When their fingers touched the pin they froze as if waiting for a trap to ensnare them. Realizing that nothing was going to happen, they took it from the outstretched hand and gasped when they recognized it. Their eyes briefly flicked between Lewis and the pin before a confused look came about their face. 

“Kingsmen is out there?”

Lewis nodded. 

“So if I’m remembering correctly, you must be Lewis.”

Another nod. 

They hummed, eyes squinting in confusion. 

...

“Alright well I’m sure Arthur can explain this whole situation once he’s inside so-“ 

They were interrupted by a crash and the sound of glass breaking coming from the backyard. A loud, unfamiliar growl ripped through the air as a fight seemed to break out between Mystery and whatever the hell that other thing is. 

Both ghosts flinched at the sudden noise. 

Lewis was the first to speak up, almost yelling to be heard. “What the fuck was that?!”

The other ghost raised their arms up, yelling back just as loud. “I thought you guys were hostile so I sent my dog to scare whoever was outside away! I didn’t know there was gonna be another animal out there!”

Lewis pulled his hand down his face. 

“Look, I can’t get out there to help so you’re gonna have to do something!” They honestly looked like they were about to panic, curling in on themselves and floating so low that their feet were touching the ground. This must’ve been a pretty overwhelming time for them, with all the people trying to get rid of them, and now whatever this situation was. 

Lewis’ big brother instincts kicked in and any annoyance he held towards them vanished. He crouched down to look them in the eyes. “Look, I’ll go out there and sort things out, then I’ll bring everyone inside and we’ll get a chance to explain things to you and, hopefully, vice versa, okay? Stay calm, I’ll be back soon.” 

The other ghost nodded and, figuring that was all he was going to get as a response, Lewis phased outside of the house. 

Now they were all alone again, being able to do nothing but stand there and wait until things settled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate Ending:
> 
> Lewis crouched down to look the panicking ghost in the eyes, placing a hand against their face to get their attention. His hand easily dwarfed their skull. 
> 
> “Goodbye you aquatic shit.” 
> 
> He crushed the ghosts head like a soda can.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ghost Dog Ghost Dog Ghost Dog Time!!
> 
> Sorry that we don’t get to meet Ghost Boi properly just yet but sometimes while writing there’s just a point where it ends and you can’t continue to write that chapter no matter how much you want to. 
> 
> ~~or whatever the author of the house on mango street said I can’t remember the exact wording I haven’t read that book in years~~
> 
> So next chapter !

Mystery growled at himself over his complete carelessness. 

First, his poorly thought out actions triggered Lewis and greatly disappointed Vivi, which then led to Arthur isolating himself and Vivi leaving Mystery to try and console the poor boy. And now due to his sulking Mystery didn’t notice any threats until one had its teeth lodged right in his thigh. 

It wasn’t powerful enough a bite to break skin, thank god, but it was painful nevertheless. 

Then the teeth were gone and Mystery sprang up and jumped onto the dusty glass table accompanying the chairs to see exactly what was attacking him. 

It was a dog, about the size of a jack russell. She was crouched on the ground where Mystery was laying, teeth bared with an echoing snarl. In a flash of movement her appearance boiled away, leaving a floating skull over a jet black body with an exposed spine and ribs. On the collar, which was floating where the neck would’ve been, held a heart-shaped tag that glowed a bright purple. 

The dog leaped onto the table to lunge at Mystery, but before she could snap at him he jumped out into the yard, momentum causing the table to tip over and shatter. This did nothing to stop her though, she shook glass shards away and sprinted after him out into the rain. 

The dogs movements were fluid, gliding in the air as if it were almost nothing. Contrasting Mystery who had ended up slipping in the mud soon after he landed. She pounced on him once again, sharp teeth clamping down onto Mystery’s neck, her body boiling hot and singeing his fur wherever she touched. Any rain that hit her was quickly evaporated, leaving a cloud of steam all around them. 

Undeterred by this Mystery turned his head and reached for the dogs anchor. 

As soon as the tag was grasped between his teeth the dog yelled out and started thrashing around, unclamping from the scruff of Mystery’s neck to hold onto other end of the collar.

Before any real damage could come to the ghosts anchor a hand came between them. Lewis grabbed the collar, pulling it out from Mystery’s mouth. 

The dog was still weary, though. Holding onto their collar as if her life depended on it, which it really did. 

Lewis let go of the collar and watched as the dog slipped it back on before going back to a defensive stance. 

Just then, Vivi came running into the backyard with Arthur—sans arm—in tow. 

They stopped right behind Mystery and Lewis, unable to see the dog just yet. Vivi gasped, kneeling next to Mystery after seeing his wounds. 

“Mystery! What the hell happened!?” She yelled, instantly becoming defensive after seeing the dog in front of them. 

The ghost dog wasn’t happy about being this outnumbered. There was no way she’d be able to fight them all off, all she could do is growl and hope that they’d leave. 

Lewis, who had instinctively shielded Arthur, was surprised when he was pushed aside. 

Arthur crouched in the mud and held out his hand for the dog, who had stopped growling at this point, not that growling would do any good over the thundering rain anyways. The dog sniffed his outstretched hand for a moment before jumping onto him and knocking them both over. 

Lewis knew Arthur could hold himself in a fight, especially with something so small but he was still afraid for his friend. He reached out to pull him back but stopped just short. The dog looked alive again. Her tail was wagging like no tomorrow as she licked all over his face and tipped excitedly. 

Arthur just laughed, using his arm to try and push her away from his head. “C’mon, get off of me!” 

She did no such thing, instead opting to lay on top of his chest, still licking away. 

Once Arthur’s giggles and the dog calmed down he stared up at the amused faces of Vivi and Lewis, who were leaning over him and shielding his face from the rain. 

“Not only did you have a ghost friend you didn’t tell us about, but you also had a ghost dog friend?!” Vivi asked. 

“Yep!” Arthur smiled as he tried to sit up, cradling the dog against his chest like a baby. “This is Lady.”

Vivi immediately kneeled down and started to coo over the dog while Lewis stayed back with Mystery. 

“You good?” He asked, looking over Mystery’s wounds. It was nothing too bad, other than the bite marks and singed fur. 

“I’ll be alright, just caught me off guard is all.” Mystery answered, looking back at the damage he had caused. The frame of the table was on its side and little shards of broken glass were covering the porch, trailing a fair distance into the yard. 

Whoops. 

He turned back to the group to see Vivi now holding Lady and talking to Arthur, Lewis joining in on the conversation when he figured that Mystery wasn’t dying or anything. 

Walking over to the group he realized that something wasn’t right. 

“Arthur, where’s your arm?”

Arthur shrugged, brushing the soggy hair out of his face. “I left it on the porch because the rain’s real bad and we couldn’t just be sitting ducks while something was going on back here.”

Lewis hummed in thought, water droplets causing his hair to sizzle. “Alright, you guys go back out to the front door and I’ll head inside to clear the way.”

“Sounds like a plan. Let’s go gang!” Vivi smiled, leading Arthur and Mystery back to the front of the house to wait for Lewis to let them in, Lady getting cozy in her arms. 

Lewis watched them leave until he couldn’t anymore. Sighing, he floated back into the house. 

And thus, the gang split up once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lady is her own seperate ghost but chooses to stay with her owner because they’re as inseparable in death as they were in life. It’s because of this that she also is water-oriented, but not to the extent that Ghost Boi is. She can’t conjure up her own water constructs or anything similar to that but her body can behave as a liquid and also ‘boil’ at times, but only while in her skeletal appearance.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you see any spelling errors or anything like that please let me know so I can fix it!!

Clearing the entryway to the house had been pretty easy. Most of the broken furniture had been swept out of the way by the time Lewis had come inside so it was a matter of just moving the table and turning the couch right-side up. 

As soon as the front door opened up and Arthur walked in though,

“ARTIE!” 

Arthur wheezed out a laugh as he was crashed into, clutching onto the little ghost almost as hard as they were hugging him. “Hey bud!”

Lady, who was still in Vivi’s arms up to this point, decided that she wanted in on the hug pile. She leaped away from her confinement and snuggled up in the space above her owners arms and under Arthur’s chin. 

After a few moments they let go of each other and the ghost turned to the others. “I guess I should introduce myself, huh? My name’s Ollie!” They smiled, waving a hand at them. 

Lewis and Vivi waved back. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Ollie.” Vivi smiled, following Arthur over to the couch where he was sitting with Lady curled up on his lap. 

“Right back at ya, Vivi! I’m so excited to finally meet you guys, Arthur’s told me so much about you.” 

She hummed and looked over to Arthur, who seemed like he’d honestly be anywhere other than under her gaze. “That’s funny considering he’s never mentioned anything about having a ghost friend to us.” 

“I was planning on having you guys meet eventually! But for a while I liked having something only to myself that you guys didn’t know about or could take over or whatever,” He mumbled, looking away from them. 

Lewis floated over and sat on Arthur’s other side, effectively sandwiching him. 

Now Ollie floated before them, swooping down to give Mystery a quick pat before swimming back up through the air. 

“As much as I would love to believe that you came here just to catch up and hang out for a bit, I know that there’s something going on that I need to help you guys with. But! Before we get to the good shit you need to tell me what’s happened since your last visit.” They clapped their hands together, eyes roaming over each member of the group. 

“Well...” 

Arthur dove into the story of the past year and a half of his life. Ranging from the cave to the search for Lewis to the mansion to how Lewis had found them (and subsequently tried to kill Arthur) but after a heated screaming match and a battle with a crazy tree yokai they’d cleared up their misunderstandings. Through every detail Ollie sat in rapt attention. 

After Arthur finished his tale they sighed. “I guess were immediately jumping into the good shit then, huh? This is a dangerous game you’re playing here, Kingsman.” 

He was confused. Arthur thought that his friend would be happy that they’re all reconciled and that he wasn’t ‘wasting away’ while looking for Lewis anymore. 

“Not only are you close to a ghost that was born out of the desire for your blood to be spilled, but the possession you described was ended so abruptly and haphazardly that I wouldn’t be surprised if there were still traces of that demon within the deepest corners of your mind.” 

Arthur froze while Mystery growled. “What are you trying to say?”

“Tell me Arthur, do you have nightmares of the night in the cave? Is there a little voice whispering nasty thoughts to you whenever something goes wrong?” They pondered, staring hard at the anxious man. 

Arthur nodded. 

Next to him Vivi frowned. “So we just need to exorcise the demon, right?”

This time it was Mystery who answered. “Unfortunately, by the way this sounds a simple exorcism won’t suffice.”

“Yeah,” Ollie sighed. “We can’t do anything about the demon now. It won’t get any stronger than a weak influence but even then it’s still constantly affecting his mind. Arthur, whenever you’re feeling like, really bad just go and be with those important to you. Don’t isolate yourself and wallow in your own pity.”

Arthur chuckled. “Speak for yourself, Ghostie. But yeah, alright.”

They gasped in mock offense. “Hey! It’s not like I have anything better to do when no one needs my help. I can’t even leave the house or anything.” 

“Not to interrupt or anything,” Lewis started, fidgeting with his hands again. “But why is it dangerous for Arthur to be close with me?”

“You!” Ollie pointed at him with an accusing finger. “Mister, are a ghost born of unbridled rage. To my understanding it hasn’t been too terribly long since you were hellbent on killing Arthur in cold blood.”

He looked away, ashamed. 

“Even though you have a different purpose as a ghost now since that situation is resolved and you’re still here, you can’t change what made you exist as a spirit in the first place.” 

“That explains a lot.” Vivi mumbled to herself, choosing to ignore the betrayed look Lewis gave her. 

Arthur snickered until Lewis gave him a not-so-subtle push and he landed on top of Vivi. 

Lady, now disturbed of her napping spot, went to lay down next to Mystery on the floor. 

“Anyways, what’s up with you?” Arthur asked, swinging his legs over Lewis’ so that he was laying across their laps. 

“Hm? Oh, uh, nothing really. I’ve literally just been sitting here scaring away demolition guys and helping the occasional child who comes wandering.” They answered, shifting upright until they were sitting with their legs folded together, elbows resting on their knees and holding their skull up boredly. 

This piqued Mystery’s interest. “Children?”

Ollie made a noise that sounded like they were sucking in air through their teeth. “When I was dying I realized that for my entire life I’d been a huge asshole to everyone I’ve ever known. So, my dying wish was to be able to help people in my death. Ever since I woke up as a ghost I’ve become a magnet for lost spirits and children in need of help because I decided to have a midlife crisis while on the verge of dying. Now I’m stuck in this world until there’s no one left for me to help.”

“Oof.”

“Meh,” They flipped their hand around, “it’s all good. Just a shame my dying wish was so boring.”

“Hey, at least you didn’t spend it erasing all traces of yourself from your girlfriends mind.” Lewis consoled. 

“You know what? On second thought my wish isn’t all that terrible.” 

As they all talked among themselves the rain outside kept falling, no matter how secure and safe the little ghost felt at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized that part of this might be confusing so Ollie uses they/them pronouns but let’s the children they meet call them whatever because it doesn’t bother them, which is why Arthur refers to them with he/him

**Author's Note:**

> please feel free to leave a comment if you liked reading this because it would fuel my motivation and I’d get like 3000% more things written


End file.
